“Who is honored? He who honors other.” (Sayings of the Fathers 4.1)

Roxanne and Murray have spent a lifetime honoring others through their
dedication to their students, their colleagues, their friends and their family.
 Actually, those categories are overlapping. To be a student or colleague of
Roxanne and Murray is to be a friend and to become part of their extended
family.   It is no coincidence that their professional interests entwined with
their incredible skills in creating communities around them.  Their
contributions to our understanding of networks through collaborative endeavors
via computer is well recognized but also in need of recognition is their
attention to those important details in life that lubricate the social
machinery.  No professional event they held ever suffered from lack of
provender.  They take interest in the lives of their students and colleagues
beyond the professional and are always ready to provide cheer or comfort as the
situation demands.

“Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that
counts cannot necessarily be counted.”   (Albert Einstein)  We cannot begin to
count what Roxanne and Murray mean to their students and colleagues but I am
proud to be part of this festshrift to honor their immeasurable contributions
and proud to count them as colleagues and my friends.

What a great way to retire! Looking forward to abgreat event, which I plan to
attend.

Mazal Tov!

Roxanne and Murray,

You have done so many wonderful things and helped so many people that you
deserve to have a happy and joyful retirement. I think you will probably
continue working but as free agents and not under NJIT and I am delighted about
that.

There are no words to express how special you both are to me and how important
you have been in my life.

Many Hugs and Kisses,
Donna 

Dear Roxanne and Murray,

I can not express enough gratitude towards you two.  You have been instrumental
in helping me, as well as many other foreign students, to get to where we are at
in our lives today.  You have been there every step of the journey, which
transformed me from a college graduate from a foreign country, to a professor
in the U.S. aspired to do cutting-edge research, teach students, and enjoy a
full life.  

If only I could retire with a fraction of the contributions you have made, I
would be very content with myself.  I am sure you will be actively involved in
our IS family.  I hope this new phase of your life is full of enjoyment and
fun. 

Best wishes,

Jia

Thank you two for bringing many good things to the IS program! I enjoyed the
courses I took with you and other research/seminar activities you organized. I
wish you health and happiness in your retirement.  

I would like to add my voice to many others who have already expressed their
admiration and gratitude towards Roxanne and Murray as they begin a new phase
in their academic careers. 

Roxanne and Murray have been instrumental in the success of many IS scholars by
directly mentoring them or by indirectly inspiring and stimulating their
research interests. In addition to their many influential publications and long
list of advisees, their contributions via editorial activities, dissertation
committee appointments and referee work assignments have contributed to the
quality and progress of research in general and to the academic careers of many
other researchers.   

At a more personal level, I was extremely fortunate to have Murray as my
academic adviser during my doctoral program and Roxanne as my Dissertation
adviser. I am privileged to count them not only as mentors and co-authors but
also as personal friends. I can proudly say that I would not be where I am
today had it not been for their valuable advice and guidance.

Best wishes for a long and productive Emeritus phase with as many successes as
you have had so far!!!

     When he received my application for admission to the Doctoral program Dr.
Turoff responded with a letter that made me feel that I was already a welcome
and appreciated member of the team at NJIT.

     The value of this was immense, for it conveyed the idea that the faculty,
administration, and students were not antagonists, but were partners working
toward a common goal, excellence in education.

     To me this is leadership at its best, and I want Dr. Turoff and Dr. Hiltz
to know that I understood and appreciated it during my student years, and still
do.

     For Dr. Hiltz, my teacher, mentor, advisor, and friend, thank you, today
and always.

     Wishing you both a long and happy retirement!

Love,

Hyo-Joo

Roxanne/Murry:

When I hear what you intend to do as your retirement I get tired!  BUT, if you
enjoying it then go for it  That is what is important!


Thanks for all your help and support from the first day I came to NJIT.

rich

This note is to commend Roxanne and Murray for the fact that they have been the
"most cited faculty members" of NJIT in the open literature for years according
to "scholar.google.com"

Wishing them all the best for their new journeys in life.

Kindest regards,

Ali

I enjoyed the time when I was visiting scholar at the IS Department. It was a
great opportunity for me, not only to discuss research ideas in the IS
seminars, but also to learn and participate at many activities that helped me a
lot and are still present in my current academic life.

I wish you both health and happiness in your retirement! 

Regards
Fahri Yetim

I know it's completely inaccurate to wish Congratulations, as though somehow
your research and contributions are now done and ended.  I imagine being
emeritus is essentially a freeing from teaching and administrative duties and
you both will be even more productive and ground-breaking than you have been
for so many years.  You are both the founding significant researchers and
designers of computer-mediated communication, followed by development and study
of a variety of related systems and applications (from EIES, GDSS and
asynchronous learning networks to knowledge management, social computing, and
crisis/emergency management systems).

I have been honored, pleased, and fortunate to have known you and worked with
you over the years.  My own dissertation -- way back in 1982! -- could not have
been initiated or completed without your support, through providing data,
funding, and discussion.  I know you have also been incredibly supportive of a
long stream of graduate students.

And I've been amazed and entertained by your amazing travel stories each year,
your lovely and diverse heather (and rock!) garden, and the intriguing and
captivating stories about your various children.

Dear Murray and Roxanne,
thank you for being supportive and for being a second family for us, the IS
students. It was really difficult for me to leave my country and come to NJIT.
I didn't know anyone here at that time, and to be honest, I was a bit scared.
But, I had the great opportunity to meet you, and it was no time before I felt
like home. This feeling gave me the power and the confidence to focus on my
work and to give my very best. For all these I want to thank you, and like many
before me said, there are not enough words to express my gratitude.

My wife, Corina, also sends you the very best wishes.

Thank you,
Razvan and Corina

Murray and Roxanne-
 
I recall my thrill at catching a glimpse of you two at the World Future Society
Conference in Washington, D.C. (I can't remember the precise year, but recall it
was sometime toward the end of the 1970's) and all the years that I used Network
Nation as my text book in Communication Technologies!  EIES, Delphi decision
making, and so much more over the years - what an incredible record of
accomplishments.  You have done so much to build what our field has become, and
you continue to do so.  What a grand and well-deserved honor!  
 
Best Wishes and Congratulations!

ray

The contributions of Murray and Roxanne are almost too many to mention.  Their
research work is amazing in breadth, depth, and quantity of contributions.  But
their work of defining, evaluating, and creating computer-mediated communication
systems has had a dramatic effect on the way electronic societies function. 
With unending good humor, patience, and guidance, they allowed a diverse and
sometimes "overenthusiastic" group of young technical staff to build EIES and
follow-on systems.  Many of the EIES concepts have found their way into
commercial products, and now web-based applications such as message boards and
weblogs.  That the design work done by Murray and Roxanne was adapted should
come as no surprise; this work has always required a blend of both technical
understanding as well as being human-centered.  It was their team approach --
both as a couple and with their colleagues -- in evaluating how groups
interacted which drove such rapid innovation.  Their research was truly decades
ahead of its time; we are just beginning to see systems incorporate some of
their seminal ideas.  And there will surely be more applications building upon
those foundations.  I was privileged along with many others to work at
CCCC/EIES with these two innovators, where they gave us space intellectually
and organizationally to explore new technologies and concepts.   Twenty-five
years later, I'm still learning from those experiences, and have tried to carry
on their traditions of building collaborative environments both in the
electronic and professional realm.  Hopefully Murray and Roxanne can take some
much needed time away from the responsibilities of academia to enjoy personal
pursuits and travels.  Their work and ideas will live on through all of those
whose lives they have touched.  As one of the many, it has been an honor and
privilege to both work with them as well as become life-long friends.  All the
best wishes!

well, in confidence, i think of y'all as the two headed monster!  as far as my
life goes with meeting and more so, working with you two, all wrongs have been
right, karma has been balanced and the idea of graduating and not living this
incredible life of research that is inspired from Murray is depressing at best.
 Michael, if you're reading this, you may want to count me in for another year
for if at all possible, i will try to optimize my time with Murray and Roxanne,
and take advantage of all opportunities, well not all for that would be way too
long ;).  honestly, what i have learned from you both, experienced in the form
of collaboration, can only be learned through experience and no textbook. from
the bottom of my heart, i am forever indebted to you both.  the journey i
innocently started with Murray from his initial proposal, through the past two
years with you both, has been a life changing event.  i cannot verbalize what
you two have meant to me, what y'all have done for me and the life lessons
learned.  thank you a thousand times over...and if you feel something tugging
at your back, it's me riding those coattails of success!  however, the ride's
not over and we have time on our side and i look forward to and cherish every
single moment of it! too good to be true!

forever yours,
Connie!

Dear Murray and Roxanne,

You have done research 20 years ago on topics which have recently been
"discovered" by other researchers.  You have been the true pioneers.  You were
always pioneers, with your own ground-breaking work and even with understanding
and adapting the work of others.  I remember Murray talking about the potential
of the World-Wide Web in nineteen-ninety-something-low, and I was thinking,
What is the World-Wide Web? Murray understood the significance of it before
other people even knew it existed. Roxanne, I was always impressed how you
treated your PhD students more like a caring mother than like a professor.
Above all, you have both always been supportive and nurturing. I hope to see
you around here for many more years.

Festschrift is German and means celebration-writing.
Tabula Gratulatoria is Latin (or Latinish).  Finally, after 33 years my four
years of Latin in high school come in handy.  :)

We all know and are overwhelmed by your ground-breaking and ongoing
contributions to online learning -- I would guess you are the most often cited
in papers on all aspects of ALN, and your work has been foundational and
inspirational for much of mine.

I just want to say what good people you are.  You were welcoming and kind to me
when I was new in this area.  You have been incredibly supportive of my research
and career.  You have helped me when you didn't have to.  But most of all, I am
always happy to see you.  I hope I keep seeing you for many years to come.

Dear Roxanne and Murray,

As founders of our NJIT IS department, it is not surprising that people always
talk about you two when we attend IS conferences.  You have contributed so much
to establish and promote our IS community and have made our IS program known in
the IS field. As great educators and scholars, you two have devoted so many
true loves to our IS program and students, so we, as students, feel that we are
lucky to grow up in such a lovely family at NJIT. No matter where I am, I am so
proud that I graduated from NJIT’s IS PhD program. Personally, I greatly
appreciate all your kind support and assistance and I have learned a lot from
you two. 

I wish your retirement life enjoyable and fun!

All the best,
Dezhi   

Warm wishes to Murray and Roxanne on this occasion. Paul Levinson and I have
fond memories of the wonderful crew at EIES, who made our launch of Connected
Education so much richer than it would have been anywhere else.  From Marty
Lyons' special care, including his inimitable +pizza, to all the help we
received from Sal, Jim, JF, I, Ellen, the Bobs (Czech, Arms, & Michie), and so
many others I can't even remember now - you all made it so much fun.  But most
of all to Murray and Roxanne - the visionaries who created that wonderful space
to work in - we send our gratitude and appreciation. Despite the limitations of
the pre-web text environment, we created a vibrant Connect Ed Campus on EIES
that people still remember; we find echoes of the ground-breaking work that we
all did in online education all over the place today.  I believe it was Murray
and Roxanne's unique approach to collaborative work and their respect for their
students' imaginations that allowed the project to develop  in as many
directions as it did. I frequently long for one or another of the old EIES
commands-like +sen or ??? or +on - when I'm moving around the web, and I
rarely, if ever, encounter some navigation tool that you folks didn't think of
first, and make available to us in some rudimentary form.   It was a grand
experiment and you don't get enough credit for it.  On a personal level to
Murray and Roxanne: I hope you were successful in your lake-front battle with
the geese,  remember fondly your visit to us on the Cape where we shared clam
strips and Roxanne danced on the beach, and wish you all the best as you move
into your next great adventure.  Keep us posted!  

All best wishes to all,
Tina Vozick & Paul Levinson

paullevinson.info
infiniteregress.tv

Dear Roxanne and Murray,

It has been a pleasure to have worked in the IS Department with all its
funkiness, unique traditions and creative ways for making great scholars and
thinkers out of students coming from all over the world.  It is easy to make a
department a place of solid research if you are a Stanford or a Berkeley, but
non-trivial if you start your efforts with an NJIT.  I have been impressed from
the time I entered the department at the innovative ideas and effort that has
made the IS department a research community for our students.

Emjoy your retirement  It is a time of even greater effort, great peace and
sheer unending fun.  

Marilyn

Dear Roxanne and Murray,

I joined the dept. while you were away on sabbatical and was very impressed by
your contribution to the field, as I was reading your papers and listening to
your course CDs.  When I met you a year later, I was even more impressed by
your dedication to the IS community and especially to students.  What a
wonderful combination of great scientists and people!  I was so happy to hear
that although you are ‘retiring’ you’ll continue on with your research and I
feel very fortunate for the opportunity to work with you and to learn from
you.

Sincerely,
Robin

I have worked with Dr. Turoff for about two years now and I have felt honored to
have the opportunity to have researched my thesis and other papers with him. Dr.
Turoff and Dr. Hiltz are a wealth of knowledge in Information systems that has
made countless contributions to the field. Dr. Turoff originally sparked my
interest in Emergency Preparedness and Information systems, and today I carry
on that work building off the skill sets provided to me by Dr. Turoff and Dr.
Hiltz. I wish you both the best in retirement and congradulations once again. 
Sincerely,
-Jon

Has it already been 13 years since I first met Roxanne and Murray at one of the
first Sloan ALN meetings?  I feel fortunate to have gotten in on the ground
floor of the field of online education during the mid'90s, and grateful to
Roxanne and Murray for having dug the foundation many years prior to that as
the progenitors of computer conferencing.  Their work was seminal in making my
current career possible, and I appreciate their pioneering and ongoing
contributions to the field.

Roxanne and Murray have always been generous with sharing their expertise and
their thoughts.  They were helpful to newcomers like me back at the dawning of
the World Wide Web, and they have been valued colleagues over the years for
their perspectives and their candor.

Best of wishes and enjoy your celebration!

 

Dear Murray and Roxanne,

First and foremost, congratulations to you both for completing your great
careers at NJIT and moving onto retirement!

Secondly, my apologies that I am not there in person to pay my tributes and
take part in this Festschrift!

Murray, although I was a part-time student during my doctoral program you never
treated me any different than a full-time student, which I admired a lot.  The
fact that you let me visit you at your beautiful lakeside home to discuss my
dissertation was a great privilege, which I used to look forward to, although I
used to get lost going up the hill!  In the beginning, I used to look for
specific guidance from you, but soon I realized that research is more about
finding one’s way around without being told specifically what to do.  The fact
that I got my diploma after being in the program for 9 years was mainly due to
your patience and understanding.  I will also never forget your horrified
reaction when we removed my wailing two-year old daughter from her car seat
during our trip to HICSS ’98 – you politely declined our invitation to come
back with us on the return trip from the restaurant where we had our dinner! 
And of course, I will never forget the cowboy arrow belt around your jeans!

Roxanne, I have to add that although it was difficult to get a good grade on
your CIS 675 course (got an A, by the way :-)), the concepts of usability and
functionality have carried me throughout my profession even to this day.  Even
in my current job, as regulatory informatics head for the Asia Pacific region
at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where I am more involved in designing globally
harmonized processes, I am constantly looking for the usability of not only
systems but also processes.  I owe that thinking to you and also the literature
references from your rich collection.

In Tamil, there is a saying that a human being has to respect their “Matha,
Pitha, Guru, Deyvam” which means “Mother, Father, Teacher (Guru), God” in that
order.  I will always look at the two of you as the two teachers or mentors who
were instrumental in getting my doctorate and for that I thank you immensely. 
 
I wish you both a happy retirement life!  My wife Uma sends her regards and
best wishes to you.

If you are ever in the Asia Pacific region, please feel free to stop over in
Singapore (we are here till June 2008)!

Best Regards,
Bala

Roxanne and Murray,

When we review our professional history, which is growing frighteningly long as
the birthdays pass, we always point to our joining EIES in late 1979 as a key
turning point. And, frankly, dozens of online systems later (maybe hundreds,
who knows at this point), we still believe nothing compares to the power and
simplicity and pure vision that it offered. Friends we made there, a few of
whom we've never met F2F, remain in our network. We cut our electronic teeth on
EIES and that experience proved seminal for all our work to come, including
writing NETWORKING and all our other books. We mention it in all our
presentations--and I always enjoy (Jessica writing here) saying very clearly
"the Electronic Information Exchange System--EIES." Somehow, people then get
it.

Thank you both for the inspiration and the dedication to understanding what
only a handful did then and millions do now. That the Sept 17, 2007, New Yorker
has a piece about an NYU dean having to explain F2F to incoming students who
only have friends on FaceBook is some kind of tribute to how far your ideas
have traveled.

May you enjoy Festschrift and the work that evolves out of it and may you
finally make it to our home in Boston on one of your trips.

With great admiration and love, J&J

Friends, mentors, advisors, guides...

Savvy, sharp, innovative, insightful, meticulous, hard-working, inspiring...

Warm, caring, generous, just, outspoken when injustice lurks, vigilant,
steadfast, stubborn, wise...

Distinguished, renowned, respected, celebrated, beloved...

Distinct, unique...

Quirky, funny, fun-loving, fun...

Wonderful!

Roxanne and Murray,

Working with both of you during the past six years has truly been a privilege!
How can one, in a few sentences, express the gratitude, enjoyment and knowledge
gained in working with two such wonderful people? For me, this is not possible –
but I’ll just note that I believe the quality that differentiates you from other
world renown researchers is your genuine interest in each and everyone one of
your students (part-time and full-time)!    

While I will not be able to attend your Festschrift, my thoughts will be with
you and my memories of the two of you debating the merits of various research
theories/alternatives will stay with me forever…

Dear Roxanne and Murray,

You are the heart and soul of the IS family. I have learned a great deal from
both of you. You are the most energetic, kindest, and accomplished persons I
have ever known. I wish, someday towards my retirement, I can be as full of
life as you are.

Wishing you a happy and healthy retirement!

With many thanks,

Peishih

Today is "Teacher's Day" in Taiwan.  On this day, I wish to express my gratitude
to both Murray and Roxanne who are great teachers and mentors to students and
colleagues.  Your dedication to education and research has changed the IS field
so much as a whole.  Best of luck!

Dear Murray and Roxanne,

You are my role models and mentors - not just in my professional life but my
personal life as well.  I thank you so much for your tutelage, guidance,
encouragement, support, and friendship.  I feel honored to know and work with
you and look forward to continued friendship and collaboration as I finish my
studies and beyond.

I know that your "retirement" just means you will reduce your workload to about
twice the normal workload :)  I wish you much happiness in this, the next stage
of your careers and lives.
You two are awesome!!!

Love,

Linda

Since I am new to the department, I do not have much experience with Dr. Hiltz
and Dr. Turoff but I have a little chance to know Dr. Hiltz. She was first
contact person in NJIT during my PhD process.

I was very impressed with her positive attitude and willingness to solve any
issues. I am sure that I am not only the person to feel this way.

I am very glad with their new move. I wish them a good luck.

Best regards

Art

Dear Murray and Roxanne:

I enjoyed your classes and the way you taught us to learn in many
things. You always have many exciting learning activities that I
haven't experienced from other courses I took.

I appreciate your efforts in helping PhD students. I personally am
impressed about Roxanne's recommendations on my study and also her
willingness to help me when I was facing troublesome situations.

On your retirement, I hope both of you will have a golden time with
your family and the new grandchild. Wishing both of you lots of
happiness and joyful forever.

Lots of people all over the world have talked about Roxanne and Murray’s
research impact. A lot of people in this Tabula Gratulatoria have also
mentioned their great support and mentorship to our community, and particularly
to our students (at NJIT and beyond). I cannot even begin to mention their
support to junior researchers. I remember my first year at NJIT. It was the
summer 2003 and I was moving from Italy to the US. I was somewhat scared about
the future and not sure on what to expect. Suddenly, I received an email from
Roxanne who had read an announcement about new faculty joining NJIT. We had
never met, but she wanted to know if I needed anything and she offered a place
to stay until I found one…It was so encouraging for me to be so welcomed to
NJIT. Roxanne and Murray have been there ever since, and continue to be there
in many many ways. 

Thanks for your passion, intellectual contributions and most of all, your
empathy!

Katia  

Thanks for your support on my study and research during my PhD student years at
NJIT. I have learnt a lot from not only the courses and academic advisement you
gave, but also various activities you organized, such as the toastmaster group.
I still remember when I first met Roxanne she said that every PhD student is
like one of her own kids. I think every one will agree this is true. 

Wish you both a happy retirement!!

Quanzhi

Dear Prof Roxanne and Murray,

Thank you for all the great contributions you have made! All the best wishes
for your new journeys in life! And enjoy your celebration!!~

Best regards,

Amy

Dear Murray and Roxanne,

Even as I am typing these words, I am still hesitant to go on and finish this
piece - perhaps I won't finish again as in some previous attempts, but as I
have my Saturday morning coffee next to me and the Festschrift festivities get
close, chances are that I'll make it this time - when you all read this, I
finally did. One thing is sure though: I must start my contribution by
describing how I actually first met with Murray and Roxanne…  

As a young researcher, back in 1996, I got a grant from the Belgian NSF  to
spend a 10 month sabbatical at a place of my preference, and after some web
searches (the Web was just there all right) I found an interesting lab at a
smallish US university  - the “collaborative systems lab”, and sent an email to
their directors, Murray and Roxanne whom I did not know at that point, with my
intentions to visit their lab for some time. To my pleasant surprise, a got a
quick and positive reaction, and so I soon planned a trip to New Jersey, where
I was invited to stay with Murray and Roxanne in Randolph. 

So I arrived at Newark airport on a rainy day early in spring in 1997,  some
time in the late afternoon.  I rented a car, and started driving to Morristown
where we would meet at King’s, and drive to Randolph together to avoid that I
would get lost between Morristown and Randolph, as apparently could happen to
new visitors…   

Unfortunately things went a little difficult from there: I got off the I278
highway at Madison, and quickly realized there were multiple King’s along the
way to Morristown. I stopped at each of them, only to find out that nobody was
waiting there for me, and resumed driving to the next one, all this in the
pouring rain and, as night fell, in increasing darkness…. Finally, hours later
and on the verge of exhaustion, I found THE King’s I was supposed to be at,
with a tall person waiting alone in the soking rain – I drove next to that
person, opened my window and asked: “Murray, I presume?”. Much to my (and
Murray’s) relief, that was indeed the case, and Murray quickly got into my car.
Murray was soaked, I was tired, but we were both relieved and happy, and at last
I was on my way to Randolph. 

Now, 10 years later, I cannot but wonder at all the things that happened since
this remarkable trip in the rain and the dark to Murray and Roxanne’s house in
Randolph. I sure spent 10 great months in 1997-1998 at NJIT’s coLab, but I
could never have thought that I would continue in the following 10 years
discussing fuzzy sets and incomparability, scaling and ranking, decision making
and negotiations, gaming, emergencies, crises and disasters, high reliability
theory, DERMIS and the ISCRAM06 conference, but also scuba diving, gardening,
dark beers, dinosaur dung, industrial strength black coffee, NJIT and global
politics, … too many things to all write down here. 

Murray and Roxanne, it was and remains a privilege to work with you, to have
been on the faculty of your IS department, and to have you as mentors, guides
and friends. You both have shaped my views on IS research, and influenced my
thinking irrevocably.  

Thanks for everything, and very best wishes for this new phase in your life. 

Bartel, and Veerle and the kids

I look back and wonder how a single email to Murray and a subsequent meeting
with Roxanne gave a new dimension to my career and a renewed interest to my
academic pursuit. Your contribution to the field of Information systems and
your enthusiasm to forge new frontiers will inspire us in every step of our
way.  I am sure that our IS family always talk about your steadfast devotion
and focused vision that helped to create this multi-faceted, multi-cultural,
multi-lingual and multi-dimensional department.  It’s an honor to be associated
with you.

Thank you.

Roxanne & Murray,

I want to thank you for providing me with the encouragement and support that
kept me going for the ten years it took for me to complete the Ph.D. program. 
While I know that part-time doctoral students are frequently unsuccessful, you
were both there for me when the lights began to dim and I started to close my
eyes.  For this, I am eternally grateful.  I also appreciate the opportunity to
teach CIS 455 as an adjunct for so many semesters.

Congratulations on your retirement!  I know that you enjoy travel and am sure
that there are many new places you are planning to visit.  Your colleagueas and
former students are scattered around the world and so, in many ways, you will
always be close to home.

Again, thank you and congratulations!

Bill

Roxanne & Murray,

I want to thank you for providing me with the encouragement and support that
kept me going for the ten years it took for me to complete the Ph.D. program. 
While I know that part-time doctoral students are frequently unsuccessful, you
were both there for me when the lights began to dim and I started to close my
eyes.  For this, I am eternally grateful.  I also appreciate the opportunity to
teach CIS 455 as an adjunct for so many semesters.

Congratulations on your retirement!  I know that you enjoy travel and am sure
that there are many new places you are planning to visit.  Your colleagues and
former students are scattered around the world and so, in many ways, you will
always be close to home.

Again, thank you and congratulations!

Bill

Murray and Roxanne,

In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Steward wonders whether he has had an
impact on people’s lives and gets to see what the world would have been like
without him. Personally you both have had a profound effect at several
important milestones in my life. In 1977 Murray as my professor for CIS 732 and
as my master’s adviser you provided me a unique perspective on people and
systems that opened my eyes to new possibilities. EIES was way ahead of time
and provided a insight into the possibilities of the future internet.

More recently during my PhD studies you have both challenged us to both
appreciate the lessons of the past and move forward to the possibilities.
Roxanne, your appreciation for human complexities as they relate to the
development and acceptance of systems has opened my eyes. Technology is only
part of the equation and you have helped us appreciate the connections.

I will try to pass on those lessons to my students and hope in the future you
both may be available to guest lecture and help guide future generations of
students. 

Thank You for everything

David

What a great way to retire! Looking forward to a great event, which I plan to
attend.

Mazal Tov!

Roxanne/Murry:

When I hear what you intend to do as your retirement I get tired!  BUT, if you
enjoy it then go for it  That is what is important!


Thanks for all your help and support from the first day I came to NJIT.

rich

Dear Roxanne and Murray,

It has been a great pleasure and my privilege to know you, learn from you, and
work with you. 

Thanks and very best wishes for a healthy, happy, enjoyable and productive (it
can't be any other way) retirement!

Vassy

Dear M&R:

There's a piece of you in every system I built. Thanks for pointing the way.

I met Murray Turoff the first time in 1975, when he made a series of
presentations of his ideas in Sweden. I remember him saying that "a computer is
like a book with lots of blank pages, anyone can write and anyone can read what
they want in it". This statement turned everything around for me, and since
then I have been trying to realize his ideas.

Murray's and Roxanne's ideas stimulated us to develop the first Swedish
computer conferencing system (or what is nowadays named a forum system). We got
quite good success for that time, with about 2000 users of our system in the
1980s. Copies of our system are still running at some places.

I have also tutored students repeating some of the research done by Roxanne, to
see if we got the same results.

I had also great fights with conservative people who would believed that one
should not be permitted to use computers except to store defined values in
defined fields in defined sets of records.

Dear Roxanne and Murray,

Thank you so much for creating a wonderful environment for us Ph. D. students
to enter the field of IS. Although the program is not very big compared to some
other universities, students are all close and help each other in teaching and
research. You two were like the parents, giving us guidance, encouragement, and
helping us go through difficulties in our study and life. I can never be what I
am today without you two. I will never forget the days I studied at NJIT.

For me, I feel so lucky to be a student of Roxanne. You are not just my teacher
and advisor, but also my friend and my parents. I cannot find words to express
my appreciation to you. You are always my mentor in my heart.

I hope both of you will have full enjoyment in your retirement. 

I will always admire Murray and Roxanne for their level of dedication to their
students. One story in particular illustrates this. I had just joined the IS
PhD program, and I happened to attend a conference in Orlando with Murray and
Roxanne. Following a full day of presentations they organized a dinner out for
a large group. After an enjoyable evening and a long tiring day, we all headed
back to the hotel, except for Murray and Roxanne. They were taking two students
who had never made it to Disney World out for a midnight tour. A completely
invisible but authentic statement of who they are.

Congratulations, and thank you for everything.

Dear Roxanne and Murray,

Thank you for everything you did for me during my time as a PhD student at
NJIT. Words are most definitely not enough when it comes to expressing my
gratitude to both of you. You truly are the best. If I will achieve in my life
10% of what you have achieved so far, I will declare myself satisfied :-)

Elena (my wife) and I wish you a great retirement, lots of health, joy and
happiness.

Best wishes. You have done a lifetime of great work and influenced as well as
inspired many of us. Thanks!

I can honestly say that you both created a genuine sense of community amongst
students and faculty.  From classes, seminars, emails, and countless
discussions on webboard, I will always remember the time, commitment and
patience you provided to me and many other students.


Thank you for your sharing your enthusiasm, knowledge and sincerity.

Warm regards and best wishes,

Chris and Einav.

The Torah considers old age a virtue and a blessing. Throughout the Torah, "old"
(zaken) is synonymous with "wise"; the Torah commands us to respect all elderly,
because the many trials and experiences that each additional year of life brings
yield a wisdom which the most accomplished young prodigy cannot equal.

It is most unfortunate that Western society turns its back on the tremendous
stock of hard-learned experience tribe elders possess. They have been through
various trials and tribulations, have learned ways of coping with many of
life’s toughest problems. Therefore, they are an invaluable source of sage
counsel to younger people lacking such experience - a priceless store of
knowledge acquired over the course of many years. Instead of utilizing this
valuable asset to the full, instead of showing gratitude for years of service
second to none, society now takes the misguided attitude that it is better to
replace the elders with someone younger, who is often unfamiliar with the most
elementary fundamentals of the job. Quality is often sacrificed for the
doubtful advantage of youth.

NJIT and the IS community at large will continue to benefit from your work in
the upcoming years. No more bureaucratic constrains, no more office politics.
It's time for pure intellectual fun. 

Oh, and BTW - you now qualify to be considered for the Snahedrin (had it not
been abolished), as its members would normally have to be over seventy. "Many
years bring wisdom" (Iyov 32 : 7). "The older elderly scholars get, the more
settled their minds become," (the Talmud). 

There is a great and productive future ahead of you. I wish you well!

Respectfully,

Eli R.

Dr. Turoff and Dr. Hiltz,

It is with your advise and guidance that I am a proud recipient of the doctoral
degree. I recall spending numerous hours and days together filled with good
ideas and conversation, and continuous improvement. It is through this work
that I was able to land my first job at AT&T. I continue to work there now, and
will always cherish the intellectual learnings and atmosphere that both of you
embody. Your contributions toward pioneering work in the field of Networking
and collaboration is indeed significant. That I could be associated in small
part, makes me humble and proud. Good luck on your retirement, and all the joys
that come with it. 

Best regards,

Usha Rao

Murray & Roxanne, 

Thank you so much for your wonderful, thoughtful, and very inspiring classes!!!
 Also, I have benefited immensely from your wisdom and guidance, which I greatly
appreciate.   It has been a pleasure and privilege to learn from such
accomplished professors.  I wish you a very happy and productive retirement!  

Even though you are officially off the payroll, I’m still looking forward to
working with you for many more years. I hope you can find the time in between
your trips to exotic locale to mentor an aspiring PhD Student.  :-)

All the best!,

  Bob Baksa

Dear Dr. Turoff, 

We met for the first time in 1992. I was a young Ph.D. student who had just
arrived in U.S., and yours was the first course I ever took in this country. 
You still remain the best professor that I have ever had! Thanks for being an
inspiration to me. Over the years, during my tenure at the University of
Alaska, and then IBM and Quinnipiac University, you have been very generous
with your time and advice and have guided me on numerous occasions when I
sought your advice.  And wherever I go, I seem to emulate either your teaching
or research techniques! It is too bad that our panel on IT History did not get
selected for ICIS 2006 - it would just have been such a fitting end to a
terrific career! But I do hope that you and Roxanne will continue your rich
associations with the IS field, and continue to guide and inspire young
students of this area.

I am currently in India on a Fulbright Fellowship - if you and Roxanne plan on
visiting India in the near future, just let me know!

With warm regards to you and Roxanne,

-Ramesh Subramanian
Gabriel Ferrucci Endowed Professor of CIS
Quinnipiac University - School of Business 
and
Visiting Professor of Information Systems
Department of Management Studies
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
India.
Email: Ramesh.subramanian@quinnipiac.edu

My dream had always been to get a Ph.D. in IS.  You were instrumental in my
achieving that dream.  I thought that working full time and supporting a family
would force me to reschedule my dream to later in life or potentially not at
all.  However, the innovative distance learning model that you assembled at
NJIT solved that problem.   

When I began pursuing a Ph.D., I found two institutions where I could complete
the coursework via distance learning.  A trusted senior academic told me that
“hands down” NJIT was the better choice. 

Now that I have graduated, I am proud to tell people that I have a Ph.D. in
Information Systems from NJIT.  That is a testament to you and the top notch
program that you built there.

Thank you and best of luck in all future endeavors!

Aside from being excellent researchers, colleagues, and educators; both Roxanne
and Murray are also wonderful and caring human beings.  I do not think it
possible to count the number of people positively affected by them.

They have established a sense of community for the NJIT IS program.  As a
graduate of the IS program, I still feel a sense of belonging.  At every
conference I attend and present my research, I introduce myself as a 2004 NJIT
graduate.  I am very proud of my affiliation with the NJIT IS program and feel
very fortunate to have had both Roxanne and Murray as my teachers.

I think Michael said it best, “… Distinguished, renowned, respected,
celebrated, beloved...”

Simply stated, I would say WONDERFUL!

My heart felt respect and best wishes to both Roxanne and Murray.

Nothing is more profound in changing people's lives than developing people
themselves. As repeatedly mentioned by other students, professors and even
people outside NJIT, we have learned so many wonderful things from you two.

We will never forget the last a few years as students in the IS department at
NJIT. It was a new phase in our life.  There are many memorable moments for us
during that time - publications, proposals, dissertation and degree. All these
things would not have happened without the help, support and guidance from you.
We feel so lucky and fortunate to be a member of the big IS family. 

Congratulations and best wishes to you.

Qing & Xin

Dear Professors Turoff and Hiltz,

This is a pleasure for to participate in this Festschrift. I wanted to be here
to say you in person thank you and good luck. During my time at NJIT as
Visiting Research Scholar you give me trust, resources and an opportunity to
grow as professional and person. Now, during this week, you give me again
motivation and strength to continue with my way. I hope to see you soon again,
here, in Spain or wherever where we can share good moments. 

My best wishes

Victor Amadeo Banuls Silvera
Assistant Professor of MIS
Pablo de Olavide University
Seville - Spain

If the term Grand-adviser has not yet been coined, may I reserve the rights to
it?  With Raquel's tutelage being any indication, you have much to celebrate...
On behalf of your second generation advisees, thank you for your legacy.

Congratulations and Good Luck!

The things I learned in class from you are only the tip of the iceberg.  I
appreciate all of your support especially during my seven operations and
another hospital stay.  Your kindness is what I will remember long after the
details of any writings fade.  From the bottom of my heart thank you, thank
you, thank you.  May God bless you with a long and happy retirement.  

murray and roxanne, 

congratulations on your retirement from njit

during my 3 years at njit i was in admiration of your dedication to your
students, your dept. and your research

it was a pleasure to have met you and to have worked with your students and
collaborators there since i moved on to penn state

and i enjoyed our time at amcis 2005 in omaha

take care,

mike bartolacci

Dear Murray and Roxanne,

It was my fortune to be with you for one year or so before you retired. I have
learned a lot from you. Having good mentors is a blessing. 

I hope you enjoy your retirement and do hope that you are still around here so
that I learn more from you!

Best wishes,

Min

Best wishes to two intrepid explorers of networking and virtuality.

Rarely do we get an opportunity to have two illustrious professors teaching us!
Prof Hiltz has been a pioneer in online education, among others, while Prof
Turoff has great contributions due to his varied experience. I took the course
on Emergency Management systems and as a Certified Information Security
Professional (CISSP), I was very impressed with the amount of learning imparted
from the course.

NJIT community and the rest of the IS world will miss them!

Best of luck in their retirement and future endeavors!

Regards, Roger Raj.

As I've said before, I hope you enjoy your new status in life. I hope I will
continue to see you for a long time and I also hope that I can still learn and
work with you.

Thanks for everything

I think we should have called it a "love fest".  I feel such love and pride for
each of the students and colleagues that I have had the privilege of working
with over these 30 years of association with NJIT.  And the love that I felt
coming from each person who spoke, in person or here or via the precious video
that was made, just poured out and, as Murray pointed out, made me speechless
(which hardly ever happens.)

  I think that video could be used as an ad for the rewards of a professorial
career.  The words that each of you spoke-- "priceless,"  they give Murray and
I the sense that we had an academic life that was indeed well lived, and that
there is no other way that we would rather have spent our working lives than
with all of you. 

Dear Roxanne and Murray,

I wish I was at the roast - for I have stories that I would love to share. 
However, I would like to thank you both for the experience and knowledge I
gained during my time at NJIT / Rutgers.   Especially the focus on hypertext is
proving to be invaluable.  The Network Nation book is a constant reminder of the
world we live in and what's coming down the pike in the next few years.

Whether it was Roxanne's comment on a spelling mistake in my Master's thesis
presentation - which to date prompts me run a spell checker on every email
(including this one), letter or presentation I send out or working with Murray
during the summer of 1989 writing help screens for eies2 - which pops up every
time I see an email program with return receipt or voting ,  the experience has
a lasting impact.   

Those experiences have stood by me in every endeavor I have embarked on (nice
turn of phrase), it has provided me guidance on internal systems in my previous
company and yet is now guiding my current venture as we solve the problem of
finding/monetizing an "unlinked or poorly linked node".

Finally, my experience at CCCC, GSA (how can I miss that) Roxanne's UI class
(very helpful during my stint at Google)  and of course interaction with Murray
were my first experiences in the US and were more formative than any other. 
They have shaped the way I think not just about technology but to a large
extent how I approached life after leaving school. Some day I hope to return
back to school and I hope that can still be with guidance from both of you.

Best Regards

Sùresh Ramàmurthi

Many thanks from a CSCL researcher who wouldn't have been one if he hadn't
stumbled on the Network Nation years ago. All the best!
-CH

Well, to say it was a memorable weekend is an understatement.  I must admit that
I've never felt compelled to "behave" and remain in attendance for the entirety
of a conference, as is typical of Murray.  But I did for the festschrift -- I
didn’t want to miss a moment.

Over the years, Roxanne and I have been known to catch each other's eye during
a less-than-exciting conference presentation, and with a nod of the head, meet
outside for an outing.  Some of the more memorable conference outings we've
shared include: visits to museums (including Newark), swimming and water
sliding in Hawaii, and who could forget high tea in Edinburgh, where Roxanne
ordered an extra serving of clotted cream.  So decadent and so Roxanne.

It has been my absolute honor to work closely with you, Roxanne, especially
these last several years.  Grant writing, experiments, paper deadlines, more
grant writing… it’s been so stimulating (and yes, a little exhausting, but I'm
not complaining).  I don’t remember a time when I’ve been as excited about
research.  I hope our collaboration continues for a very, very long time.

And Murray, as was the case for so many students, you were my introduction to
NJIT.  You guided me along my way, steering my into Roxanne’s class to begin my
Ph.D., and counseling me over the years – both professionally and personally.  I
am grateful for all that you have done for me.  Your friendship means so much.

And finally, I’d like to thank you both for sharing your cold with me.  It’s a
testament to the quality time I got to spend with you on this important
weekend.

Tons of love,

Rosalie